It’s no mean feat to get recognised as a poet of substance when one chooses to express oneself in a modern genre in a culture that treats traditional expressions as not only palatable but also sacred.

Such a sanctimonious attitude shuns the debate over the question of what poetic genres are relevant for contemporary expressions. Theoretically, the fundamental question is simple: each age evolves particular forms to express its specific experience that sets it apart from what was experienced in the past. Since what has been expressed in the past becomes part of the tradition and appreciably acceptable, it tends to linger into the future making what is fresh and really contemporary almost irrelevant. That’s perhaps why modern poetry in all languages in our region is treated as a bit too outre by the vast majority of the people who otherwise throng the public recitals of traditional poetry.

Farrukh Yar as a poet prefers the modern genre to the traditional ones which evolved to capture the zeitgeist of the bygone eras. The form is determined by what is there to be expressed. Each age has something unique to express. Hence the older forms become incapable of capturing what takes place here and now. If they are employed by a poet it implies that either the content is not contemporary or he/she is incapable of mastering the required form which by definition has to be compatible with the requirements of the time present.

Nikalta hua Din is Farruk Yar’s latest collection of poems published by Book Corner, Jhelum. This is his fifth book of verses. He is a banker by profession. Apart from poetry his other interests are mysticism, history and mythology as is evidenced by his previous researched-based tome Ishq Nama / Shah Husain. The collection in question carries the analytical comments of writers and critics such as Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Khursheed Hasnain, Rana Mehboob Akhtar, Arif Waqar, Sultan Nasir and Dr. Arshia Qasim Ahmed which offer illuminating insights into his poetry. A long poem titled Zameen har Jagah Bolti Hai is as haunting as it is challenging; it simultaneously evokes the past of our north region as present and reinterprets it from the lens of someone who belongs here. The north is usually perceived as pristine and mysterious for its topographical features; undulating fields, snow-covered mountains, grassy slopes, awe-inspiring gorges, melting galciers and murmuring streams. Thus the region is taken as a tourist paradise rather than a chronicle of our chequered history. In this long poem, we no doubt encounter an enchanting landscape but what’s more significant is unearthing of what lies beneath the veneer. The patina of time as shown in the poem reminds us of what has been ignored and forgotten.

A large number of invaders and adventurers have passed through the north’s mountains and valleys trampling the land and the people. The poet very skilfully juxtaposes invaders’ ruthlessness to the region’s tranquil beauty and thus creates another dimension by bringing to fore the resilience and resistance of the people which are usually ignored.

In his historically informed imaginative construction, the poet is engaged in deciphering the undeciphered. Myths and lore yield themselves as poetic stuff that becomes a vital source of metaphors and symbols that afford us a glimpse of people’s soul wounded by dehumanised and dehumanising socio-historical forces. His confrontational tone makes it a poignant reminder of what we have lost. The poem is a testament to Farrukh Yar’s critical social consciousness and fecund imagination.

The book has about three dozen smaller poems which generally portray the poet’s existential anguish in a socio-cultural milieu that leads to fragmenting the emotional and spiritual wholeness of individual and collective life.

Arif Waqar, a broadcaster and linguist, comments aptly: ”One theme/ subject that runs from the beginning to the end in the book is how the mad race of development and progress has left the serene and happy face of the mother earth marked with smudges but the poet seems to be steering clear of despair. He doesn’t let go his hold on hope; ... the day has dawned/why shouldn’t we together live ever ready to embrace our wish.”

Farrukh Yar’s poems provoke one to think and imagine the things how they were or could be if not disfigured by greed laced human intervention. Some of the short poems are wonderfully evocative such as Kuch Din aur Thehir Jana Tha and English Tea House. Here is real poetic stuff, not what you hear in ‘Mushaira’ or read on social media. So the book is a treat if you have patience for modern poetry that despite being seemingly distant is closer to our socio-cultural reality.

Des Mera Jidaraan da is Iftekhar Varriach Kalarvi’s booklet on some of the historical personages of Punjab who are part of our historical memory as well as stuff of folk legends. It has been published by the Institute of People’s History, Kalra Diwan Singh, Gujrat. It comprises short articles on Raja Porus, Jasratt Khokhar, Dullah Bhatti, Kala Khan, Ahmed Khan Kharal, Jiwna Mod, Nizam Lohar, Daim Ranjha, Mehrum Luk, Ghazi Ilm Din, Bhagat Singh, Ehsan Ilahi, Soshila Mohan and Sufi Muhammad Amritsari.

The author tells us in his introduction that his main driving force stems from his desire to highlight the tradition of patriotism in Punjab that has a history. Being a gateway to Indian heartlands, Punjab has historically suffered the brunt of invasions mostly from the north and the south. The people of Punjab resisted all the marauders. Those who in some way led the resistance were glorified as heroes despite the fact that they couldn’t vanquish the invaders. Nobody could. Pathans failed to stop Greeks and Turks, Sindhis couldn’t repel the Arabs and the people of the eastern regions capitulated to the East India Company. This is what this booklet reminds us in simple words. However the issues of secular and religious histories are separate.

Iftekhar Varriach would be well-advised not to conflate them. The booklet, however, can be very useful for the lay public. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2024